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November 8, 2009

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Letter: America built on liberal ideas

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2002 | 9:09 a.m.

I am not a full-fledged liberal. I think that in some cases a conservative idea is the best answer, and in some cases, liberal. But what I hate is liberal-bashing. So I want to do some conservative-bashing.

When conservatives cannot come up with a viable argument to a problem, they just bash the liberal answer to keep the status quo and let the problem get worse.

Were the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, and the Constitution conservative ideas? No! Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Monroe and all the Founding Fathers were not conservatives. If today's conservatives were around in 1776, we would today be singing "God Save the Queen."

Look at other ideas. Abolishing slavery was not a conservative idea in 1860. Women's right to vote was not a conservative idea in the eairly 20th century. Civil rights and Social Security were not conservative ideas.

Fact is, if Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower were alive today, I doubt they would be conservatives, let alone Republicans.

DANIEL PRESTRIDGE

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